The Baseball Thread 2007

[Big Al]

Amazing game at the Jake Friday night. Sold out crowd for Tribe/Tigers. Carmona v. Maroth. Detroit had lit up Carmona several times last season during his stint as closer. Carmona pitched okay but not great in Detroit last week, but didn't get it done Friday--5 earned runs in six innings. Tribe battled back from 1-5 to tie it at 5. Tom Mastny who has been reasonable as a setup guy then immediately gives up 4 more to Tigers. Tribe cuts the lead to 2 in the eighth, Tigers extend it back to 4 in the top of the ninth (Fernando Cabrera really struggling in Tribe pen). Then in the bottom of the ninth, Victor Martinez hits a 3-run homer to cut the lead to 1. Peralta doubles, and with two outs in the ninth, Todd Jones pitches around Trot Nixon to pitch to Josh Barfield. Barfield hits a game tying single. Delucci follows with a game winning single. 5 runs off of Todd Jones in the bottom of the ninth. Jones faces 12 batters and throws 46 pitches in one inning (last out of 8th plus 2 outs in ninth). 5 straight Cleveland wins against Detroit (...not counting Cavs/Pistons).

Just watched the highlights. What a finish! Congrats for your team, man! David Dellucci.... used to play for the Rangers..... imagine that!

[trane_fanatic]

Carlos Zambrano is a effin' disgrace.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270601116

Edited June 2, 2007 by trane_fanatic

[Patrick]

Can this game get any crazier? Despite two errors and stranding SEVENTEEN at this point, the Rangers are still winning! And I take back every rotten thing I ever said about Kenny Lofton after that spectacular catch he made where he ran up the wall and caught the ball in the stands, robbing (I forget who was up) of a homer and doubling off another guy at first.

Nice to see Lofton contributing in some fashion. 17 year career, 40 years old, and is back among league leaders in stolen bases (at least so far). There was a time there in the mid-90's where I'd argue he was as dominant as any offensive player in the AL. Meaning he'd have as much of an impact on the opposing pitcher/team as any of the big boppers. He'd get on one way or another, and you knew he was stealing second (third was also a possibility), just a matter of when. Omar Vizquel who was just emerging from being a bottom-of-the-order glove got a lot of fastballs to hit. So did Baerga. By the time Belle got up, Lofton was in scoring position (...if he hadn't already scored). In his prime, his glove was as good as Junior Griffey's (or Torii Hunter's today). Arm was adequate. He also had the handicap of playing between Manny in right and Belle in left--talk about having a lot of ground to cover! Slowed by leg problems/age since about '99.

[Soulstation1]

that snag by lofton was sweeeet

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Sox fans definitely are some pieces of work!

[Dan Gould]

They also screamed "Mine!" in unison when A-Rod caught a pop-up.

[Dan Gould]

How about the kid, Dustin Pedroia? Batting .170 in April, he ought to be a lock for Rookie of the Month if not Player of the Month for May, hitting over .400 with a .600 slugging percentage(!). He's now over .320 on the season after hearing a lot of whispers about him not being able to cut it after his poor September call-up and April start. But he kept saying that he always starts slow and he'll be fine, and right now I'd have to say he could be a strong ROY candidate at this early date. He's flashed excellent leather, too.

BTW, if he gets Rookie of the Month, that will be two in a row for the Sox, after Hidecki Okajima in April. One difference would be that Dustin won't say "Is it proper that I receive this award?"

[Quincy]

Actually, I'd reverse that prediction. Moose is next with either a legit injury or a "he's crap and we need to put Clippard in there" pretend injury, then Clemens (either a pulled leg muscle or a neck cramp from watching the best hitters in the world hammer him) then Pettitte will be the final nail in the coffin.

Very believable. Woo-hoo, I feel like I've just placed a win-place-show bet on the Belmont! (Now watch Wang or Hughes muss it up.)

Though the neck cramp crack is funny, I'm going with the good ole groin as the most likely Clemens injury. (Not that your specific injury picks were in order.)

Looks like we're both wrong on the order, but I got the Rocket's injury right. (Nah nah nah nah nah nah. )

Clemens is scratched from Monday's start. Right groin injury. Quoted as "fatigue in the right groin." Phrasing is everything.

What a year for the Yanks. Dan, do you have a supply of voodoo dolls that you're not telling us about?

-Edited to change a "q" to a "g" in fatigue.

Edited June 2, 2007 by Quincy

[Dan Gould]

Actually, I'd reverse that prediction. Moose is next with either a legit injury or a "he's crap and we need to put Clippard in there" pretend injury, then Clemens (either a pulled leg muscle or a neck cramp from watching the best hitters in the world hammer him) then Pettitte will be the final nail in the coffin.

Very believable. Woo-hoo, I feel like I've just placed a win-place-show bet on the Belmont! (Now watch Wang or Hughes muss it up.)

Though the neck cramp crack is funny, I'm going with the good ole groin as the most likely Clemens injury. (Not that your specific injury picks were in order.)

Looks like we're both wrong on the order, but I got the Rocket's injury right. (Nah nah nah nah nah nah. )

Clemens is scratched from Monday's start. Right groin injury. Quoted as "fatigue in the right groin." Phrasing is everything.

What a year for the Yanks. Dan, do you have a supply of voodoo dolls that you're not telling us about?

-Edited to change a "q" to a "g" in fatigue.

Well, you certainly deserve kudos on the spot of the injury. Funny how we noticed that he came up a tiny bit lame at the end of the first inning of that rehab start, but since he completed five more and looked at least halfway decent in doing so, it was reasonable to assume it was just a twinge.

To be hurt before he even starts is just priceless. And Igawa starting in his place is just icing on the case.

What's even funnier is that they won't put him on the roster until he is ready, which means that this is going to cost him at least one week's salary. What is that, about a hundred grand?

[Quincy]

Well, you certainly deserve kudos on the spot of the injury. Funny how we noticed that he came up a tiny bit lame at the end of the first inning of that rehab start, but since he completed five more and looked at least halfway decent in doing so, it was reasonable to assume it was just a twinge.

That was someone else as I didn't see the rehab start. Roger just seems like a groin guy to me.

To be hurt before he even starts is just priceless.

Phew...I guess it's just that kind of year. Not that I can recall this kind of year happening in quite this way to any team. Man!

And Igawa starting in his place is just icing on the case.

For the fans it must feel like their very own groin pull. Sorry, I mean "fatigue."

(I mean wtf?, try using "groin fatigue" in a sentence and not have it sound silly.)

What's even funnier is that they won't put him on the roster until he is ready, which means that this is going to cost him at least one week's salary. What is that, about a hundred grand?

There are just too many zeros for me to calculate that now as I'm suffering from brain fatigue.

[Dan Gould]

Well, you certainly deserve kudos on the spot of the injury. Funny how we noticed that he came up a tiny bit lame at the end of the first inning of that rehab start, but since he completed five more and looked at least halfway decent in doing so, it was reasonable to assume it was just a twinge.

That was someone else as I didn't see the rehab start. Roger just seems like a groin guy to me.

To be hurt before he even starts is just priceless.

Phew...I guess it's just that kind of year. Not that I can recall this kind of year happening in quite this way to any team. Man!

And Igawa starting in his place is just icing on the case.

For the fans it must feel like their very own groin pull. Sorry, I mean "fatigue."

(I mean wtf?, try using "groin fatigue" in a sentence and not have it sound silly.)

What's even funnier is that they won't put him on the roster until he is ready, which means that this is going to cost him at least one week's salary. What is that, about a hundred grand?

There are just too many zeros for me to calculate that now as I'm suffering from brain fatigue.

If you were using "Little Eric" to think instead, would that be groin fatigue?

[AndrewHill]

Huge night in Cleveland: hosting Detroit in basketball and baseball. Cavs are on top in the second!!!!!!!!!! Yeah and the Indians last night pulling it out in the ninth!! Its great to be in Cleveland!

[Soulstation1]

fwiw

i was born and lived 13 years in ashtabula

[Aggie87]

That odd clock delay seemed to hurt Cleveland. They had alot of momentum at the end of the first, and didn't get that back after the 20 minute break.

[Patrick]

I don't think Tribe will pull it out tonight. Another bad start for Cliff Lee. But they still have 2 more shots at the Tiger bullpen. Cavs game a bit tough to watch (for everybody) given they don't have any functioning shot clocks.

[AndrewHill]

fwiw

i was born and lived 13 years in ashtabula

My wife works there!

[AndrewHill]

I don't think Tribe will pull it out tonight. Another bad start for Cliff Lee. But they still have 2 more shots at the Tiger bullpen. Cavs game a bit tough to watch (for everybody) given they don't have any functioning shot clocks.

Yes, there's a delay, but they're tied at the half!

[AndrewHill]

I don't think Tribe will pull it out tonight. Another bad start for Cliff Lee. But they still have 2 more shots at the Tiger bullpen. Cavs game a bit tough to watch (for everybody) given they don't have any functioning shot clocks.

You're right, it didn't happen tonight for the Indians, Detroit 9-5. But the Cavs still have a major shot (pun intended) to end it tonight. Interesting perspective about Cleveland suffering from the lack of a shot clock...I think you are absolutely correct!! It drained the audience of any enthusiasm!

[zen archer]

Well if Sox-Indians is a preview of the ALCS as some commentators have said, we're in for a doozy of a series based on the first game. Schilling had a major bounce back game, 1 run on six hits in seven innings with ten K's, Youklis actually hit an inside the park homer (can't wait for the highlights on Baseball Tonite) and the suddenly super hot Dustin Pedroia went three for three with two doubles and sparked a two out rally in the eighth to give Papelbon a three run lead to close. Dustin is hitting .298 after being around .170 a month ago.

Then it got scary. Walk. Double. Double. Second and third, no one out, 5-3.

Then Paps went pop out, strikeout, strikeout, and all was right with the world.

20 games over .500. 11 1/2 game lead over the O's, 12 over the Blue Jays, 13 1/2 over the Yanks, who fall into a tie for last place with the D-Rays after they staged a two run walk-off rally off of Todd Jones.

See Tribe fans? Its not such a big deal taking a loss today. No change in the Central standings.

They just showed Clemens on baseball tonight and he was limping off the mound after the first.

he looked gassed after 6 innings and the guys on espn were wondering if the yanks might try and get out of the deal ?

That was ME that said Clemens limped off the mound and if you go back to that start he did pitch 5 innings

more BUT threw a lot of breaking pitches and only hit 89/90 on his fastball !!!

Something was wrong and Joe Buck said he could miss the next 2 weeks of course Torre

pleaded ignorance about the time . But you have to figure he might miss more than 1 start.

[Quincy]

If you were using "Little Eric" to think instead, would that be groin fatigue?

Who you callin' "little" punk?

Another Saturday Fox broadcast of a Red Sox-Yankee game, another Yankee injury. A pretty scary collision at 1st as (cut & paste his name) Mientkiewicz reached for an offline throw and had his head & neck jarred as Lowell (thru no fault of his own) was running thru. Lowell even paused for a second as he knew Mientkiewicz was hurt before (and I'm guessing here) he heard his coach encourage him to go on to 2nd. A nasty snap and a cart was brought in to take him off the field.

Pitchers & 1st baseman are dropping like Canseco handled flies.

Edited June 3, 2007 by Quincy

[Big Al]

Carlos Zambrano is a effin' disgrace.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270601116

What an asshole. I bet Texas signs him before the year is out.

[Dan Gould]

Reason #1005 why Gary Sheffield is an idiot:

Sheffield says Latin players easier to control than blacks

ESPN.com news services

Updated: June 3, 2007, 11:29 AM ET

The percentage of African-Americans playing Major League Baseball is at an all-time low and Gary Sheffield says he has a theory why that's the case.

In an interview with GQ magazine that's currently on newsstands, the typically outspoken Tigers designated hitter said Latin players have replaced African-Americans as baseball's most prevalent minority because they are easier to control.

"I called it years ago. What I called is that you're going to see more black faces, but there ain't no English going to be coming out. … [it's about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do -- being able to control them," he told the magazine.

"Where I'm from, you can't control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that's a person that you're going to talk to with respect, you're going to talk to like a man.

"These are the things my race demands. So, if you're equally good as this Latin player, guess who's going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys."

According to a 2005 report by the University of Central Florida Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, only 8.5 percent of major leaguers were African American -- the lowest percentage since the report was initiated in the mid-1980s. By contrast, whites comprised 59.5 percent of the majors' player pool, Latinos 28.7 percent and Asians 2.5.

Yeah, right, Gary, that's exactly why. Doesn't have anything to do with African Americans playing basketball and football. And there is no significance to this statement in today's NYT review of a book about Jackie Robinson's rookie season:

Now, according to C. C. Sabathia, the only African-American player on the Cleveland Indians’ roster at the end of last year, the question has regressed to kids in his California hometown asking him, “What’s baseball?”

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Pitchers & 1st baseman are dropping like Canseco handled flies.

HA!

[T.D.]

Pitchers & 1st baseman are dropping like Canseco handled flies.

HA!

I'll never forget the fly ball that bounced off Canseco's coconut and into the seats for a HR!

And only a few days later, he asked Kennedy to let him pitch (knuckleballs IIRC) during a blowout loss, Kennedy put him in, and Jose promptly blew out his arm...

[Tim McG]

Jose CanStrikeOut was never the sharpest knife in the drawer.